Meet the 2012 Syracuse basketball team

In 37 games, Christmas averaged 2.8 points and 2.9 rebounds, falling perfectly in line with his predecessors. If Onuaku, Jackson and Melo are any indication, Christmas is in for a significant jump in production this season.

When Melo was deemed ineligible for the NCAA tournament, Keita and Rakeem Christmas were charged with manning the middle of the SU zone. Keita responded with two of his best games of the season against Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 and Ohio State in the Elite 8.

Coleman, who grew up just miles from the Syracuse University campus, spent his childhood attending games inside the Carrier Dome. He had plenty of ties to the Orange, including his former teammate at Jamesville-DeWitt, Brandon Triche, now in his senior year at SU.

Southerland oozes athletic ability, can shoot the ball from anywhere on the court and has one of the best vertical leaps on the team. But, despite all of this, Southerland has never been able to fully put his game together.

Last year, Jim Boeheim had one of the deepest teams in the country, headlined by an experienced backcourt that included Scoop Jardine, Dion Waiters and Brandon Triche. Minutes were hard to come by, especially when it came to the fourth guard of that group, Michael Carter-Williams.

Cooney, who came into Syracuse as his class’ 64th overall prospect and 17th-rated shooting guard, redshirted his first year on The Hill. He had to watch the games from the sidelines while perfecting his own game away from the spotlight.